There isn't much of a crossover audience between a first-person like Team Fortress 2 and the online role-playing game Rift, but that could change now that a Steam preorder of the MMO scores players exclusive content for both games.

Here we see one of the benefits of being a company that develops games as well as a company that sells them. Trion Worlds' Rift might be getting a little boost from Team Fortress 2 fans thanks to a deal that gives TF2 players two exclusive in-game items for preordering the upcoming MMO.

By laying down their dough for Rift, Team Fortress 2 players will gain immediate access to the Pyro's Sharpened Volcano Fragment and the Scout's Sun-on-a-stick. They'll also receive an in-game exclusive for Rift in the form of the Well-Spun Hat, a cosmetic item that places a nasty spider on their character's head.

I've fiddled about in the Rift beta a little bit, and it's not a bad little Western-developed MMO. I can't see it pulling in many Team Fortress 2 players, but the promise of shiny new weapons certainly helps.